HELENA — West Valley Fire Rescue has named Dave Hamilton as the new fire chief for the volunteer department.
Hamilton was born and raised in the Helena Valey and has been a member of West Valley for more than two decades, including most recently serving as an assistant fire chief and stepping in as interim chief twice after previous fire chiefs resigned.
“I have a passion for being a volunteer and helping the community and being there to help our neighbors in a time of need,” Hamilton told MTN.
Also for the past two decades, Hamilton has worked for the Montana DNRC in the Forestry and Fire division. He was recently honored for excellence in fire training for wildland fire fighting with the Jim Blankenship Award.
“You know, my goals for 2024 are to continue to build off of a great foundation that we have at West Valley,” Hamilton noted. “We have a great bunch of volunteers. We have some great leadership, and I look forward to continuing to serve the community and progress our fire department into the future.”
Hamilton would also like to urge the public to take extra caution when burning this spring, and encourages those interested in being volunteer firefighters to reach out.
Marc Boutilier, West Valley Fire Rescue board of trustees chair, told MTN that Hamilton has long been a great asset for the rural fire department and has confidence in him taking the helm for 2024.
West Valley’s previous fire chief Frank Dahlquist resigned on Jan. 17, 2024, following allegations of assaulting police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
